and expence of emblazoning the atchievements of every individual, which would be little more than repeating the fame words, that an infcription be placed over the door to this effect: "This gallery is facred to the mece mory and the remains of the Bloods; heroes who "lived in perpetual hoftility against themselves and "others; who contracted diseases by excess that pre"cluded enjoyment, and who continually perpetrated "mischief, not in anger, but fport; who purchased "this distinction at the expense of life; and whofe glo"ry would have been equal tó Alexander's, if their 66. power had not been lefs."

No. XCIX. Tuesday, October 16. 1753.

-Magnis tamen excidit aufis.

OVID.

But in the glorious enterprise he died.

ADDISON.

Ir has always been the practice of mankind, to judge of actions by the event. The fame attempts, conducted in the fame manner, but terminated by different

I 5

fuc

fuccefs, produce different judgments: they who attain their wishes, never want celebrators of their wisdom and their virtue; and they that mifcarry, are quickly discovered to have been defective, not only in mental, but in moral qualities. The world will never be long. without fome good reason to hate the unhappy: their real faults are immediately detected; and if those arenot fufficient to fink them into infamy, an additional weight of calumny will be fuperadded: he that fails. in his endeavours after wealth or power, will not long retain either honesty or courage.

:

This fpecies of injuftice has fo long prevailed in uni verfal practice, that it seems likewise to have infected fpeculation fo few minds are able to separate the ideas of greatness and profperity, that even Sir William Temple has determined, "that he who can deferve the 66 name of a hero, must not only be virtuous but for "tunate."

By this unreasonable diftribution of praife and blame, pone have suffered oftener than Projectors, whose rapidity of imagination, and vaftnefs of defign, raife fuch envy in their fellow mortals, that every eye watches for their fall, and every heart exults at their distresses : yet even a Projector may gain favour by fuccefs; and the tongue that was prepared to hifs, then endeavours, to excel others in loudness of applause.

When Coriolanus, in Shakespeare, deferted to Aμfidius, the Volfcian fervants at first insulted him, even while he ftood under the protection of the household; gods; but when they faw that the Project took effect, and the stranger was feated at the head of the table, one of them very judicioufly obferves, "that he always "thought there was more in him than he could think," Machiavel

Machiavel has juftly animadverted on the different notice taken by all fucceeding times, of the two great projectors of Catiline and Cæfar. Both formed the fame Project, and intended to raise themselves to power by fubverting the commonwealth: they pursued their defign, perhaps with equal abilities, and with equal virtue; but Cataline perished in the field, and Cæfar returned from Pharfalia with unlimited authority and from that time, every monarch of the earth has thought himself honoured by a comparison with Cæfar; and Catiline has been never mentioned, but that his name might be applied to traitors and incendiaries.

In an age more remote, Xerxes projected the conqueft of Greece, and brought down the power of Afia against it: but after the world had been filled with expectation and terror, his army was beaten, his fleet was destroyed, and Xerxes has been never mentioned withcontempt.

A few years afterwards, Greece likewife had her turn of giving birth to a Projector; who invading Afia with a small army, went forward in fearch of adventures, and by his escape from one danger, gained only more rashness to rush into another: he ftormed city after city, over-ran kingdom after kingdom, fought battles only for barren victory, and invaded nations only that he might make his way through them to new invafions: but having been fortunate in the execution of his projects, he died with the name of Alexander the: Great.

These are, indeed, events of ancient times; but hu-.man nature is always the fame, and every age will af ford us inftances of public cenfures influenced by events. The great bufinefs of the middle centuries, was the ho

ly war; which undoubtedly was a noble Project, and was for a long time profecuted with a spirit equal to that with which it had been contrived: but the ardour of the European heroes only hurried them to deftruction; for a long time they could not gain the territories for which they fought, and, when at last gained, they could not keep them: their expeditions therefore, have been the fcoff of idleness and ignorance, their understanding and their virtue have been equally vilified, their conduct has been ridiculed, and their caufe has been defamed.

When Columbus had engaged king Ferdinand in the discovery of the other hemisphere, the failors, with whom he embarked in the expedition, had fo little confidence in their commander, that after having been long at fea looking for coafts they never expected to find, they raised a general mutiny, and demanded to return. He found means to footh them into a permission to continue the fame courfe three days longer, and on the evening of the third day defcried land. Had the impatience of his crew denied him a few hours of the time requested, what had been his fate but to have come back with the infamy of a vain Projector, who had betrayed the king's credulity to useless expences, and risked his life in seeking countries that had no exiftence; how would thofe that had rejected his propofals, have triumphed in their acuteness? and when would his name have been been mentioned, but with the makers of potable gold and malleable glass?.

The laft royal Projectors with whom the world has been troubled, were Charles of Sweden and the Czar of Muscovy. Charles, if any judgment may be formed of his defigns, by his measures and inquiries, had

purpose d

purposed first to dethrone the Czar, then to lead his army through pathlefs deferts into China, theace to make his way by the fword through the whole circuit of Afia, and by the conquest of Turkey to unite Sweden with his new dominious: but this mighty Project was crushed at Pultowa; and Charles has fince been confidered as a madman, by thofe powers who fent their ambaffadors to folicit his friendship, and their generals "to learn under him the art of war."

The Czar found employment fuflicient in his own dominions, and amufed himself in digging canals, and building cities; murdering his fubjects with infutte able fatigues, and tranfplanting nations froen QUE LOTner of his dominions to another, without regretting tik thoufants that perished on the way: but de aliand his end he made his people formidable, que é umalyded by fame among the demi-gods.

I am far from istending to vindicate the anginal! projects of heroes and conquerors. QUE WORD HIL ther to nuk the repration of four seas the inmy off fur mikings. he sa

CEITE, WUY LE hat is butun cris, maux sans at Elled the wICH WEL DU aus seina.

more Ludy seat in making han ut her.

the rudimen of wanted; this

ea micae karla te Harians, ma